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Happy December everyone!
It might seem like down time in baseball circles, but we all know better, right? The Hot Stove is blazing, the Winter Meetings are right around the corner (, and we even have a healthy taste of Draft fever.
That’s not only because Major League Baseball’s Draft Lottery, to determine the order of the top of the first round of the 2026 Draft, is taking place at the aforementioned Winter Meetings on Tuesday. We've unveiled our 2026 Top 100 Draft Prospects list, giving fans a first look at what those lottery winners (and all 30 teams) have on their boards.
2026 Draft:
Back in September, Jim and I put out Top 20s -- one for college players and one for high school prospects for the Class of 2026. We work on those lists separately, and even though there isn’t as much going on between September and now as there was over the summer, there’s enough fall baseball action for industry opinions to shift. And as any fan of the Draft knows, the evaluation pendulum is almost constantly swinging. It does seem, as of right now, that this is a pretty solid class, better than what 2025 had to offer.
We wanted to provide a list of players who have already made leaps forward from the time of our Top 20s to now. Here are three collegians and three high schoolers who weren’t on either Top 20 who made it into the top 50 overall of our Top 100. I’ve put each list in alphabetical order.
COLLEGE
Jarren Advincula, 2B, Georgia Tech (No. 35): Advincula established his contact hitter bona fides over two years at California, hitting .334 with a nine percent strikeout rate. He won the Cape Cod League batting title by hitting .392 in 2024 and was voted the best prospect in the circuit last year by scouts, though there’s concern about future impact from the left side of the plate. Now with the Yellow Jackets, he tried on shortstop for size this fall and it wasn’t a good fit.
Ryder Helfrick, C, Arkansas (No. 29): One of the top college catchers in the class, Helfrick is advanced behind the dish, with plenty of arm strength to boot. He’s also shown he can get to his power, especially to his pull side, hitting 11 homers on the Cape in 2024 and 15 more with the Razorbacks last spring before suiting up for Team USA.
Zion Rose, OF, Louisville (No. 27): A well-regarded high school catching prospect, Louisville moved Rose and his plus speed to the outfield as a freshman, and he responded by hitting .380 with a 1.089 OPS over 44 games, then hit well on the Cape before launching 13 homers and stealing 31 bags as a sophomore. His power-speed combination in a corner outfield spot could be enticing.
HIGH SCHOOL
Will Brick, C, Christian Brothers (Memphis) HS (No. 31): Scouts are still getting to know Brick after he reclassified from the 2027 Draft to 2026 more recently. Some see the Team USA standout as the best prep catcher in the class. The right-handed high school backstop profile can be rough, but there’s sentiment that his ability to hit, and with power, will make the Mississippi State recruit an early-round target.
Trevor Condon, OF, Etowa (Ga.) HS (No. 32): Condon is a left-handed hitter with 70-grade speed who gets some Brett Gardner comps. He makes good swing decisions and could get to average power. That speed plays well in center field, too, and the Tennessee recruit should be able to remain up the middle for a long time.
Rocco Maniscalco, SS, Oxford (Ala.) HS (No. 19): Maniscalco, who reclassified to make him one of the youngest players in this class, was a freshman at Oxford when Carter Johnson was a senior en route to being a 2024 second-round pick. Maniscalco, a Mississippi State recruit, is a switch-hitter (better from the left side) with an advanced approach and a chance to have at least average power while sticking at shortstop. His dad, Matt, made it to Triple-A with the Rays.